6/18/21 - Yellow Loosestrife

As summer really sets in, there seems to be lull in bee diversity in many habitats. Plenty of generalists and introduced species to keep us busy, but the spring ephemerals and flowering shrubs are winding down and the fall asteraceae specialists are still a ways off. There are, however, several rare specialists that likely require dedicated searching to find.

The Loosestrife Bees (genus Macropis) are probably the rarest genera known from VT, but their host plants, all in the genus Lysimachia, are relatively common and widespread. Whorled Loosestrife (L. quadrifolia) is blooming now, in dry and/or sandy areas and the other species will follow soon and continue through early August. Huge kudos to anyone who photographs one of these fascinating bees!

More details on the target bees here:
https://val.vtecostudies.org/projects/vtbees/macropis/

Posted on June 18, 2021 09:08 PM by beeboy beeboy

Comments

I went out a couple times of the last week with a permit to collect at Rooster Rock State Park, OR. I sadly did not find any M. nuda . . maybe next year.

Posted by m-stanton over 2 years ago

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